3 5 2 Al K O R A N . C h a p . 34,
foolifh *: that God may punilh the hypocritical men, and the hypocritical
women, and the idolaters, and the idolatrefles ; and that God may be turned
unto the true believers, both men and women ■, for G od is gracious and
merciful.
a He was unjuft to himfelf and foolifh ;] Un- in not confidering the conference of his dif-
juft to himfelf, in not fulfilling his engagements obedience and negleft.
and obeying the law he had accepted ; andfoolifh,
C H A P . XXXIV.
Intitled, Saba1; revealed at Mecca.
In the name of the moft merciful God.
PR A I S E be to G od, unto whom belongeth whatever is in the heavens
and on earth; and unto him le praife in the world to come 5 for he is
wife and intelligent. He knoweth whatfoever entreth into the earth b, and
whatfoever cometh out of the fame', and whatfoever defcerideth from heaven11,
and whatfoever afcendeth thereto ': and he is merciful and ready to forgive.
The unbelievers fay, The hour of judgment will not come unto us. Anfwer,
Yea, by my L ord, it will furely come unto you ; it is he who knoweth
the hidden fecret: the weight of an ant, either in heaven or in earth, is not ab-
fent from him, nor any thing lefler than this or greater, but the fame is written
in-the perfpicuous book of his decrees; that he may recompenfe thofe who
lhall -have believed, and wrought righteoufnefs: they lhall receive pardon,
and an honourable provifion. But they who endeavour to render our figns of
none effeft, lhall receive a punilhment of painful torment. Thofe unto whom
knowledge hath been given, fee that the book which hath been revealed unto
thee from thy L ord is the truth, and direfteth into the glorious and laudable
way. The unbelievers fay to one another, Shall we fhew you a man who
fhall prophefy unto you, that when ye lhall have been difperfed with a total dif-
perlion, ye lhall he raifed a new creature? He hath forged a lie concerning
G od, or rather he is diftradted. But they who believe not in the life to come,
lhall fa ll into punilhment and a wide error. Have they not therefore confider-
ed what is before them, and what is behind them, of the heaven and the earth?
If we .pleafe, we will caufe the earth to open and fwallow them up, or will
caufe
a Mention is made of the people of 'Saba m
the "fifteenth verfe.
b Whatfoever entreth into the earth j] As the
rain, hidden treafures, the dead, (Ac.
c And whatfoever cometh out of the fame j] As
.animals, ^plants, metals, fpring-water, .(Ac.
rd 'Whatfoever defcendetb from heaven ;] As the
angels, fcriptures, decrees of God, rain, thunder
and lightning, (Ac.
* And whatfoever afcendeth thereto;] As the
angels, men’s works, vapours, fmoke, (Ac1.
C hap . 3 4 • Al KORAIV . 3 5 3
caufe a piece' of the heaven to fall upon them: verily herein is a fign unto
every fervant, who turneth unto God. We heretofore bellowed on D avid
excellence from us: and we faid, O mountains, ling alternate praifes with
him ; and we obliged the birds alfo to join therein *. And we foftened the iron
for him, faying, Make thereof complete coats of mailh, arrd rightly difpofe
the fmall plates,which compofe the fame: and work ye righteoulhefs, O fam ily
of D-AriD for I fee that which ye do. And we made the wind fubjedl unto
Solomon | : it blew in ;the morning, for a month, and in the evening for a
month. And we made i. fountain of molten brafs to flow for him d. And
fome of the genii were obliged to work in his prelence, b y the will of his L o r d ;
and whoever of them turned: afide from our command, we will caufe him to
tafte the pain of hell fire*. They made for him whatever he pleafed, of
palaces, andftatuesf, and large dilhes like filhponds', and cauldrons ftanding
firm on their f re v e ts ''; and we faid , Work righteoufnefs, O family of Da v id ,
with thankfgiving ; for few of my fervants are thankful. And when we had
decreed that Solomon fhould die, nothing difcoyered his death unto them, except
the creeping thing of the earth, which gnawed his ftaff'. And when
^ z his
a See chap. 21. p. 270,
b Sée ibid. p. 271.
c See ibid, and; chap/27. p, 311.
d fountain of molten brafs j] This fountain
they fay was in Taman, and flowed three days in
a month'1.
e We w ill caufe him to tafte the pain of hell
fire»] Or, as fome expound the words, We
caufed him to tafte the pain of burning ; by which
they underftand thé correflion the difabedient
genii received at the hands of the angel fet over
thèm, who whipped them with a whip of fire.
f Statues;] Some fuppofe thefe were images
6f the angels and prophets, and that the making
of> them was not then forbidden j or elfe that
they were not fuch images as were forbidden by
the law. Some fay thefe Spirits made him two
lions, which were placed at the foot of his
throne, and two eagles, which were fet above it j
arid that^ when he mounted it the lions ftretched
out their paws, and when he fat down the
eagles fhaded him with their wings *.
% Dijhes like fifhponds;] Being fo monftroufly
large that a thoufand men might eat out of each
of them at once.
cauldronsftanding firm on their trevets ;]
thefe cauldrons, they fay, were cut out of the
mountains of Taman, and were fo vaftly big that
they could not be moved j and people went up
to them by Heps 31
1 Nothing diftovered his death', but the creeping
thing of. the earth, which ^gnawed his ftaff j]
Idem, Jallalo’ddin. 2 Idem.
Lalo’p DIN. ■ • * 1 > Kings, VI. 7; V 1
^A ScHiCKAïUH Tqrich'tèg. Pe rfp . 62.' '
The commentators, to explain this palfage, tell
us, That David, having laid the foundations of
the temple of Jerufalem, which was to be in
lieu of the tabernacle of Mofer, when he died,
left it to be finifhed by his fon Solomon > who
employed the genii in the work: that Solomon,
before the edifice was quite compleated, perceiving
his end drew nigh, begged of God that his
death might be concealed from the genii till they
had intirely finiihed i t : that God therefore fo
ordered it, that Solomon died as he flood at his
prayers, leaning on his ftaff, which fupported
the body in that pofture a full year j and the genii,
fuppofing him to .be alive, continued their
work during that term, at the expiration whereof
the temple being perfedly compleated, a
worm, which had gotten into the ftaff, eat it
through, and the corps fell to the ground and
difcovered the king’s death 4-.
Poffibly this fable of the temple’s being built
by genii, and not by men, might take its.rife1
from what is mentioned in fcripture, that the houfe
was built of ftone made ready before it was brought
thither; fo that there was neither hammer, nor
ax, nor any tool of iron heard in the houfe while
it was building 5 ; the Rabbins indeed tell us of
L a worm, which might affift the workmen, its
vertue being fuch as to caufe the rocks and
ftones to fly m funder Whether the worm
which gnawed 5&/<m<?»Vftaff, were of the fame
bree/i with this other, I know not; ,but the ftory
has perfectly the air of a JewiJh invention.
3 Jallalo’ddin. +^7Bei.dawi, Jal-
V . Kim hi, irt b c . B u x t. L e x . Talpt. p . ^ ^ 6 ,